Fall Wedding Weekend in Williamsburg

After attending three weddings in September, we had one more on the docket—H’s friend from college was getting married the first weekend of November in Williamsburg. The wedding was gorgeous, and we were so excited to celebrate the happy couple in one of our favorite places. Planning this weekend would have been simple, except that we had moved into our new house the week before and were still living out of boxes—to be honest I’m amazed we pulled this one off.

I had assembled my wedding guest outfit in a suitcase to keep track of it during the move, but I still spent most of the day Friday rummaging through boxes to find everything else I would need for the weekend. We packed in a frenzy Saturday morning, threw our bags in the car, and drove to Williamsburg. Luckily, we made good time and the hotel let us check in early so we could get ready for the wedding in our room (I was glad to ditch my backup plan, which was to change in a bathroom on campus). By the time we were on our way to the Wren Building for the ceremony, we were relaxed and ready to celebrate.

I’ve been to the Wren Chapel many times—H and I had originally planned to have our ceremony there—but I hadn’t attended a wedding there until this one! It was the perfect venue for a fall wedding, with the dark paneling and moody slate floors. I loved listening to the organ music, and the ceremony was very sweet and personal. There was a break between the ceremony and the reception, and in the hubbub of the day we had skipped lunch, so we walked down Duke of Gloucester Street to Wythe Candy Shop, then got sandwiches from the Cheese Shop. We had just enough time to walk over to the Griffin Hotel and hop on the wedding shuttle to the reception at the Williamsburg Winery.

When we got off the bus, there was a bagpiper (truly!) to guide us to the reception! We started with cocktail hour in a room with a giant staircase, which the couple descended for their grand entrance (LOVE a staircase moment). When it was time for dinner, we made our way into the rustic, beautifully decorated ballroom, and once the DJ got started, we were out on the dance floor until the last song. The party wasn’t over yet, though! The shuttle came back to ferry guests to the after-party, which was at one of the historic houses in Colonial Williamsburg. We went and hung out with the bridal party until we decided it was time to head back to our hotel around one.

For the wedding, I wore a burgundy chiffon gown with a back ruffle detail, paired with gold block-heel sandals and a gold clutch. I saw this dress while I was looking for bridesmaid dresses for my wedding, and I decided to get it for myself in burgundy! I had originally planned to wear it to my cousin’s wedding in late September, but I found out that the bridesmaids would be wearing burgundy chiffon gowns and didn’t want to look like a would-be wedding party imposter, so I wore it to this wedding instead. I added a faux-fur coat, which was a little dramatic, but it looked amazing with the gown and kept me warm at the mostly outdoor after-party. I also brought a pair of snakeskin flats to change into at the reception, which is my go-to move at weddings.

I was so glad we could attend this beautiful wedding! The couple postponed from 2020 and it was so sweet to see them finally tie the knot in front of their friends and family. As always, we had a great time in Williamsburg too.